—Alfonse talking to Sharena
Vaskrheim.
Vaskrheim is an ancient abandoned temple in the south of Askr that once used to house the divine weapon Breidablik. Shortly before the Múspell invasion of Askr, Brave Heroes summoned by a rite in Kiran's world began to appear at Vaskrheim, acting as its guardians, with more continuing to appear as time went on. It appears in Fire Emblem Heroes.
History
In ancient times, Vaskrheim was a temple in the south of the kingdom of Askr. Sealed away in the temple was the Breidablik, a divine weapon capable of summoning heroes from other realms.
At some time during Askr's history, the temple was abandoned, and its name largely faded from common knowledge, with the Breidablik eventually passing into the care of the Order of Heroes.
Many years later the Order's Commander, Anna, managed to use the Breidablik to bring the legendary Great Hero known as Kiran to Askr to help them in their war against the Emblian Empire.
Soon after this, and shortly before the invasion of Askr by Múspell, the kingdom of flame, a legendary rite was carried out in Kiran's home world, fulfilling the prophecy that "A legendary rite shall call forth Brave Heroes." This led to four Brave Heroes appearing at Vaskrheim, who were gradually followed by several more through the war that followed.
Brave Heroes
First Brave Heroes
The first legendary rite led to four Brave Heroes being summoned at Vaskrheim:
- Lady Lyndis of Caelin
- Princess Lucina of the Halidom of Ylisse
- Ike, Commander of Tellius' Greil Mercenaries
- Roy, son and heir of the Marquess of Pherae
Emblian forces quickly invaded the south of Askr and managed to bind them in a contract, but this contract was broken by the Order of Heroes, freeing the heroes.
Farfetched Heroes
Three months after the first Brave Heroes appeared, four more "offbeat" Brave Heroes from different worlds appeared at Vaskrheim:
- Dorcas, a mercenary from Bern
- Lute, a mage from Renais
- Joshua, a wandering swordsman from Jehanna
- Mia, of Tellius' Greil Mercenaries
Again, Embla managed to bind them, and they were released by the Order of Heroes.
People's Hero
Another three months passed, and this time a single Hero appeared at Vaskrheim, an older version of one of the first Brave Heroes, from a different rite held in Kiran's world:
- Ike, General and Leader of the Greil Mercenaries
This time, the Order of Heroes managed to arrive before the Hero appeared, without interference from Embla, and were challenged by four of the Brave Heroes who were guarding Vaskrheim: the original Brave Heroes Ike and Roy, as well as Mia and Lute.
Brave Heroes of the Second Rite
A year after the initial Brave Heroes appeared, four more arrived, summoned by a second rite in Kiran's world:
- Hector, Marquess of Ostia
- Princess Celica of Zofia, Warrior Priestess of Mila
- Prince Ephraim of the Kingdom of Renais
- Princess Veronica of the Emblian Empire
The Order of Heroes heard rumors that one of the Brave Heroes was the Princess Veronica, but reconciled with all four after defeating them. After recruiting them however, the Order of Heroes receive a note from a world previously invaded by Princess Veronica of the main world, demanding that they hand over Veronica to them, believing her to be the Veronica of the main world. Even after convincing the other world that the Veronica with them is not the same person, she continues to question if her fate will always lead her to war, the other Heroes relate to her situation and state that only she can decide her fate, this renews her dedication to the Order of Heroes, believing that she has one thing that the original Veronica does not, allies. This convinces her to change her fate by helping the Order quell the flames of war.
Brave Redux
Similar to the first rite, a second rite of "offbeat" Brave Heroes are summoned:
- Loki, a mysterious adversary of the Order of Heroes
- Kliff, one of Alm's childhood friends and a member of the Deliverance
- Owain, the future son of Lissa and Lucina's cousin
- Aversa, a potent black magic-user and Validar's protege
Similar to the second Brave Hero rite, the Order investigates upon learning that Loki is among them but reconcile after defeating them in combat. Loki the proves her dedication after a competition over Kiran's affection, with Aversa, leads to them being captured. Loki uses her power to disguise herself as the Summoner, causing confusion among the enemy forces, allowing the Order to rescue them. Loki then resolves, with Aversa, to continue to support the Order of Heroes in hopes that Kiran will notice her.
Brave Heroes of the Third Rite
For a third year, another rite was held in Kiran's world to summon Brave Heroes. These Heroes were notable in that almost all of them had some kind of relation to a previous Brave Hero:
- Alm, heir of the Rigellian Empire
- Eliwood, Marquess of Pherae
- Micaiah, the fifteenth ruler of Daein
- Queen Camilla of Nohr
During this event, it was revealed that Vaskrheim contains a monument keeping track of all of the Brave Heroes that had been summoned up to that point.
Brave Heroes of the Fourth Rite
For a fourth year, the rite was held again. This year, all of the Heroes summoned came from the World of Crests during the war, with each one having come from a different world in which they had each won the war:
- Emperor Edelgard von Hresvelg of the Adrestian Empire
- King Dimitri Alexadre Blayddid of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus
- King Claude von Riegan of Almyra and leader of the Leicester Alliance
- Lysithea von Ordelia, heir to House Ordelia
Despite the tension between the three house leaders, having already faced each other in battle and won, they put aside their differences for the sake of Askr, seeing as they are each from a different world and bringing the fight to Askr would be pointless and instead regale each other about the events that took place in their worlds. Upon discovering that their past selves from the academy are also in Askr, they debate on whether or not to reveal the details of the future to them in order to prevent a war, but they ultimately decide that it wouldn't matter as they all had made their choices before joining the academy and instead rely on Askr itself to shape their future, believing that it could possibly lead to a completely unknown result to any of them. Instead, they decide to reinstate their class houses within Askr alongside their younger selves.
Brave Heroes of the Fifth Rite
The rite was performed a fifth time the following year:
- Prince Marth of Altea, Hero-King of Archanea
- Princess Eirika of the Kingdom of Renais
- Marianne von Edmund, heir to House Edmund
- The Gatekeeper of Garreg Mach Monastery
Immediately after being summoned, Anna receives word of Mjölnir's forces advancing, which forces the Order to mobilize the Brave Heroes towards Midgard's Shield, and despite the overwhelming numbers, Marth and Eirika manage to station enough heroes to protect the Shield from destruction. However, they fail to place enough heroes directly at the Shield's gate, leaving Marianne and the Gatekeeper as the only line of defense when Thórr herself approaches and takes on the Gatekeeper alone while Marianne is overcome by her army. Unwilling to allow anyone pass him, the Gatekeeper stands his ground and takes Thórr on at full force, to the point where he can barely stand and is close to exhaustion, which earns him Thórr's respect, as Marth and Eirika return with reinforcements to assist him and Marianne. The Order of Heroes succeed in defending the shield and resolve to stick together as the battle wages on.
Brave Heroes of the Sixth Rite
The rite will be performed a sixth time the following year, like the third rite, most of the Heroes to be summoned are known to have some kind of relation to a previous Brave Hero:
- King Chrom, Exalt of the Halidom of Ylisse
- Princess Tiki of the Divine Dragon Tribe, voice of Naga
- King Seliph Baldos Chalphy of the Kingdom of Grannvale
- Queen Byleth Eisner of the United Kingdom of Fódlan
